title: Differential regulation of IL-4 and IL-13 secretion by human basophils: their relationship to histamine release in mixed leukocyte cultures.
abstract: Human basophils are an important source of IL-4, a cytokine that is central to the pathogenesis of allergic inflammation. Recent reports have indicated that these cells also generate IL-13, which shares a number of biologic properties with IL-4. We found basophils to be the major source of IL-13 produced in mixed leukocyte cultures following 20-h activation with a variety of stimuli. While the magnitude of IL-4 protein generated correlated with the percent histamine secreted (r = 0.8; p = 0.007), there was no relationship between the levels of IL-13 detected and the amount of either IL-4 or histamine in cultures activated with IL-3/anti-IgE. The induction of IL-13 secretion also occurred in response to IL-3 alone, without concomitant secretion of either IL-4 or histamine. Although previously shown to inhibit IL-4 secretion, the phorbol ester PMA was a potent stimulus for IL-13 generation from basophils, and this secretion was sensitive to the protein kinase C inhibitor, bisindolylmaleimide. In contrast, bisindolylmaleimide did not prevent cytokine secretion induced by either anti-IgE or IL-3. The immunosuppressant, FK506, while strikingly inhibiting the accumulation of IL-4 mRNA and the secretion of protein in response to IL-3/anti-IgE, had no effect on the generation of IL-13 in these cultures; the resistance was attributed to the IL-3-dependent signaling. Similarly, FK506 had no effect on the secretion of IL-13 in basophil cultures stimulated with PMA. This study suggests that multiple intracellular mechanisms control the generation of IL-13 in basophils, some of which are distinct from those regulating IL-4.
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Clinical Immunology, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Redrup
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: MacGlashan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kagey-Sobotka
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Lichtenstein
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Schroeder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000494:pharmacology; D001491:Basophils / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002469:Cell Separation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006636:Histamine Release / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed / Q000379:methods; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D018793:Interleukin-13; C026408:anti-IgE antibodies; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D016559:Tacrolimus